Photo from Amazon Books
At church today, the bulletin printed the memory verse for the month. It is:
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
I immediately thought of the Message Bible (A friend has referred to it as the Massage Bible).
Here’s Romans 15:13 in the Message Bible:
“Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!”
The God of green hope?
The Message Bible that I have has some interesting endorsements. It is not surprising that it receives praise from Richard J. Foster and Bill Hybels. Mr. Foster is a “Living Spiritual Teacher” and Quaker mystic. Mr. Hybels is the founding and senior pastor at a mega church called Willow Creek Community Church in the suburbs of Chicago (South Barrington). Willow Creek’s theology and some who are allowed to speak there are questionable to say the least.
Here’s a Message book jacket quote by Rebecca St. James, the popular Christian recording artist:
“There is so much that is fake about our society. My generation is craving something that is real, honest, and true. The Message is straight up! It’s modern, relevant, and direct.”
I respect Rebecca for many reasons. How she could associate her name with the Message Bible I don’t know. Maybe she isn’t aware, like so many others, that it adds words that aren’t in the original Greek.
I am passing along a word of concern to those of you who read the Message Bible.
Here are a few similar opinions:
What kind of message is THE MESSAGE?
Chris Reimers
Wings of the Wind 
Very timely post. The green movement as sold to public has stalled out but will be back soon. I want post the article snippet from the mystic mess..º THE GREEN HOPE º
In Romans 15:13, the Mess contains the most bizarre statement ever in a mainstream Bible.
Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!
Romans 15:13
Who is the “God of green hope”?
The “green hope” originated with the hellish, human sacrificing, Druids. The publication Talks on Freemasonry states, “Green was, with the Druids, a symbol of hope and the virtue of hope with a Freemason illustrates the hope of immortality.” (Kenneth Tuckwood, Talks on Freemasonry) The “green hope” mantra is a popular rallying cry in the new age Mother-Earth environmental movement. In NAM “green” signifies Oneness with the Earth, hence the title of William Anderson’s book, Green Man: The Archetype of Our Oneness with the Earth.
“. . . the devil appears as ‘the green one’. . .”
(Biedermann, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism, p. 159)
In the higher orders of Freemasonry and occult practices “Green is worn” as “Satan’s color. I will leave off the rest of the story until a
After the election. It is his badge of pride over the earth. But! only in none -believers. source: William Schnoebelen.
It is not a wonder that one of the most peaceful colors that God made and has been used extensively in His creation is being used by the enemy to further his agenda.
Rev. 4:3 states: “and there was a rainbow round about the throne (of God), in sight like unto an emerald.” Satan is the great counterfeit. He will take something good and make it bad every time.
God’s blessings my friend…